Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Grand Valley (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Grand Valley. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Name Variations for Grand Valley ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Grand Valley: Grand Vly. (or less commonly used: Grand Vally. or Grand Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Grand Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Grand Valley.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Grand Valley is located in Ottawa County.
To see how the shape of Michigan's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Ottawa County: Allegan, Kent & Muskegon.
Below are the counties that are near Grand Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Grand Valley:
- Ottawa County (The home county of Grand Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Valley, with the one closest to Grand Valley listed first.
- Lamont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lamont is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Marne
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bauer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bauer is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
- Allendale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Eastmanville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
- South Blendon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
- Jenison
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coopersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hudsonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Rusk
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Rusk is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
- Wright
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Wright is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
- Conklin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Allegan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Valley, with the one closest to Grand Valley listed first.
- New Salem
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- New Salem is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Burnips
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Burnips is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnips
- Former name for Burnips:
- Burnip's Corners
- Dorr
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Moline
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Moline is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moline
- Fillmore
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fillmore is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Diamond Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Diamond Springs is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Springs
- Boyd
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Boyd is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
- Graafschap
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Graafschap is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graafschap
- Hamilton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hilliards
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hilliards is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilliards
- Wayland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hopkins
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Barry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Valley, with the one closest to Grand Valley listed first.
- Middleville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Irving
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Irving is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Ionia County
- Elmdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Elmdale is located in Ionia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
- Kent County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Valley, with the one closest to Grand Valley listed first.
- Kinney
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kinney is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
- Walker
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Grandville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beverly
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Beverly is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beverly
- Burlingame Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Burlingame Heights is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame Heights
- Galewood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Galewood is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galewood
- Urbandale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Urbandale is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbandale
- Burlingame
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burlingame is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlingame
- Wyoming
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Rapids
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Clyde Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Clyde Park is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Park
- Comstock Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Montcalm County
- Pierson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Muskegon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Valley, with the one closest to Grand Valley listed first.
- Ravenna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Slocum
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Slocum is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slocum
- Fruitport
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sullivan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sullivan is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Canada Corners
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Canada Corners is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canada Corners
- Morgan Corners
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Morgan Corners is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Corners
- Bailey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Wolf Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wolf Lake is located in Muskegon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
- Norton Shores
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Muskegon Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Roosevelt Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Muskegon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Newaygo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grand Valley, with the one closest to Grand Valley listed first.
- Ashland
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ashland is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Bridgeton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Bridgeton is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Grant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Sun
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Sun is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
- Sitka
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sitka is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Newaygo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Grand Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Grand Valley.
Cemeteries Near Grand Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grand Valley.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Grand Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Grand Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Grand Valley, with the one closest to Grand Valley listed first.
- Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Elmwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bauer Road Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Allendale Twp. Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rosedale Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Marne Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Blendon Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blendon Twp. Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Blendon Twp. Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<2> to the northwest of Hudsonville.
- The Blendon Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Blendon Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #128 <3>
- Georgetown Twp. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- River Bend Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Mary's Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Eastmanville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (260 more) ...
- Jenison Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Rusk Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>
While we didn't find Grand Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Grand Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Grand Valley, with the one closest to Grand Valley listed first.
- Tallmadge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tallmadge is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallmadge
- Lamont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lamont is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamont
- Pearline
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pearline is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearline
- Bauer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bauer is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
- Allendale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Kinney
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kinney is located in Kent County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney
- Eastmanville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Eastmanville is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastmanville
- South Blendon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- South Blendon is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Blendon
- Jenison
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Herrington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Herrington is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrington
- Hudsonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Grandville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Coopersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Reno
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Reno is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Borculo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Borculo is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borculo
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Grand Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Grand Valley.
Newspapers Published in Grand Valley ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 217 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grand Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Grand Valley, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Grand Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Grand Valley:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Ottawa County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegan County
- Barry County
- Ionia County
- Kent County
- Montcalm County
- Muskegon County
- Newaygo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Grand Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <4> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Grand Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |